On the back of 10 wins in a row, the New Zealand Black Caps have shown the cricketing world that they are a winning team, booking themselves a seat on the plane to Melbourne for Sundays World Cup final.
It hasn’t been as easy as the recent form suggests though. This team has played some really tough games, and got themselves in a winning position from just about every situation.
The Black Caps talk about the “brand of cricket” they are playing at the moment, which looks to be a cross between Rolls Royce and Toyota Hilux.
The guys are full of class with their reactions to big moments – think Grant Elliott offering Dale Steyn a hand up after hitting the winning six, or Kane Williamson’s smile when he hit his winning six on the same ground against Australia. There was no rub-it-in-your-face scream, just a small moment of relief then quickly deflect all praise as just doing your job and giving credit to the others in the team for getting you in the position.
At the same time there’s the roll-up-the-sleeves mentality, constantly fighting, with different players standing up each game to get them across the line.
There is no one defining moment of their World Cup campaign, instead there is probably one moment for each player.
Martin Guptill
His six on the roof of the cake tin in Wellington summed up his 237* knock.
By the time he passed 150 he was seeing it like a beach ball. I was lucky enough to be in the crowd and there was a short drinks break when Guptill was in his mid-late 100s. The speed at the urinal said it all. Everyone wanted to be there for the next milestone, guessing optimistically about how big his score was going to get as Guptill sped to the second-highest ODI score of all time.
Brendon McCullum
A little bit harder, he’s had some very impressive knocks. His domination of England stands out slightly as his moment though.
They could have easily come out and pushed it around for 30 overs to reach the required 123 but that’s just not Bazz’s style (or “brand”, as he puts it). His 77 runs off 39 balls defines his campaign: never take a step back and let the opposition take a breath.
Oozing confidence and constantly attacking.
Kane Williamson
Cool, calm, composed Kane Williamson hitting the winning six over Pat Cummins head, while the rest of us watched with no fingernails left, hearts racing (Trent Boult included).
Williamson was the calm among the storm that was Mitchell Starc. As tension clouded the ground at Eden Park, Adam Milne went, followed closely by Tim Southee. Out strolls Trent Boult, the poor number 11 nobody envied, who thought his job was over after taking five wickets, but he was called upon to face two balls from a roaring Starc.
He credits his ability to do so to Williamson’s calming effect when they met in the middle. He got through and Kane only needed one ball from Cummins to finish the job.
Ross Taylor
Although there have been a couple of memorable moments for the wrong reasons, with his running between the wickets, Ross Taylor has played his part in the winning team.
The Oscar for best supporting role goes to this man. His innings against Bangladesh was well played with a sore arm. He got hammered by a number of couch commentators for ‘wasting balls’, but he didn’t need to play risky shots. Guptill and Elliott were going at around a run a ball, so he just had to stick around and not lose his wicket.
He hasn’t had the credit he deserved for this innings, or his 42 against West Indies and 30 against South Africa. He hasn’t thrown his wicket away cheaply, he’s had starts.
Grant Elliott
The moment that will be replayed a thousand times by every New Zealander between now and Sunday. That six!
But the moment that followed sums up the New Zealand team. Helping Steyn to his feet was pure class, and it showed that this team is genuine. They talk about being humble and not getting carried away and this gesture proved they walk the walk.
Corey Anderson
Another tough one, he’s had a lot of contributions such as his 75 in the opening game against Sri Lanka, or 58 against South Africa, but his 14 wickets in the World Cup are just as important. He’s a true all-rounder but his most important contribution was the three wicket-taking deliveries against South Africa.
First Rilee Rossouw as that partnership was starting to build, then Faf de Plessis to slow things down, before getting David Miller as he was starting to get carried away.
He takes big wickets at key moments.
Luke Ronchi
The man that’s yet to fire with the bat. He had a perfect opportunity to define his World Cup campaign by getting us home in the semi but it wasn’t to be. 29 off 19 added to a competitive total in the tournament opener but that’s his only semi-significant score.
He has dismissed 13 people with his gloves though, second only to MS Dhoni’s 15 in this World Cup. Watch this space for a big moment at the MCG.
Daniel Vettori
The man that refuses to age. Everyone knew he was going to be a big part of this World Cup – it’s Daniel Vettori after all – but nobody thought he would take as many wickets as he has.
His catch on the boundary against West Indies goes down as his moment though. This happened right in front of me and everybody was stunned. He has surprised everybody with how much he has contributed, and this moment defined that.
For someone that historically has been used to create pressure and wickets at the other end he has outdone himself with 15 scalps to his name.
Adam Milne
Often forgotten about because of the success of the two that bowl before him, he hasn’t had to do a lot, but he’s picked up big wickets when called upon. The wickets of Joe Root, Najibullah Zadran and Chris Gayle stand out, as they’re the top scorers for their respective teams in all three of those games.
He’s also very handy in the field and has proven that he is an important part of the team even without the ball with his catch to remove the Afghan Rambo – Hamid Hassan.
Tim Southee
Seven-for against England hands down is his moment; the best bowling figures of the tournament were incredible to watch. He was unplayable in a few of the wickets and lucky in a couple of others, but this really was his game.
He’s had wickets in other games though and his tournament total is 15.
Trent Boult
Arguably the best bowler of the tournament (as much as I hate to admit it, Mitchell Starc has been brilliant also). The man that was questioned with the white ball has proven himself and now is much more than a Test specialist, much to Mitch McClenaghan’s dismay.
His five-for against Australia is his moment, but honourable mentions go to his big wickets at the top in most of our games. Being called upon to bowl six, seven or even eight-over opening spells makes his feats all the more impressive.
Honourable mention goes to Matt Henry for his brilliant first five overs where he only gave up nine runs. In a real ‘Beaver’ moment (referring to 2011 Rugby World Cup call up of Steven Donald) he was summoned last minute after missing out on a place in the original squad. Henry showed he was up to the occasion and he’ll be hard to drop in the future.
I’ve rambled a bit in my excitement but this Black Caps team is both a winning team and a team of winners. They have a number of game-breaking players and a fighting attitude that you can’t rule out until the game is over.
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